Journal Entry #8
Pritchard, Michael. "Michael Pritchard's Water Filter Turns Filthy Water Drinkable | Video on TED.com." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. TED, Aug. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pritchard_invents_a_water_filter.html>.
This video is about Michael Pritchard's new water filter invention called LifeSaver. He made it because he had seen children in Africa drinking dirty water and he also saw the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. He said that he noticed that it took a week for water to get to people that had been through the hurricane and that people were killing each other just so they could get some. He said that the smallest bacteria is approx. 200 nanometers but the pores of the water filters available were were 200 nm wide. He also said that the smallest virus is 25 nm and that that virus will most definitely get through a 200nm hole. So he created a filter that was 15 nm so that neither virus nor bacteria can get through the holes, therefore, making the water safe to drink. He gives a demonstration on how his water filter works. The filter, he says, lasts for 6000 liters of water before shutting off.
1. What if there is toxic waste in the water that we can't see?
2. How does Lifesaver filter out solid objects that are in the water?
3. How much does each bottle cost and how can we supply enough for people in Africa, for example, who are suffering from bad water?
4. What happened to Chris?
5. What does the water taste like after having all that nasty stuff in it?